Marking Time by Marie Force

night with her daughters, complete with dinner, movies, and manicures.
    “Do you like this color on me?” Maggie held up a hand to show off bright red nails.
    “It’s a bit much,” Clare said as she reclined on the sofa and watched her girls. They sat around the coffee table painting their nails. “I liked the purple better.”
    Maggie reached for the bottle of remover. “Yeah. Me, too.”
    Knowing she needed to get this over with, Clare sat up and took a deep breath. “There’s something I want to talk to you guys about.”
    Jill blew on her nails and waved her hand around to dry the polish. “What’s that?”
    “I’ve been thinking about getting away for a little while.”
    Kate looked up. “Getting away to where?”
    “Remember Uncle Tony telling us about the house he bought in Vermont?” Clare asked, and the girls nodded. “I’m going to go up there for a bit to help him with some work he wants to have done to the house.”
    Maggie’s eyes grew wide. “For how long?”
    “Three months, maybe a little longer.”
    “But why?” Maggie asked, fighting off tears. “You just got home.”
    Clare reached down to smooth her hair. “I know, sweetheart. But here’s the thing: it’s really hard for me to be in this house without Dad. I guess I didn’t realize just how hard it would be until I was here for a while. I need some time away to adjust to everything that’s happened.”
    “Time away from us?” Jill asked.
    “No, honey, this has nothing to do with you guys. I’m hoping you’ll come to visit me all the time. You can even go skiing this winter. Maggie, I’d love to have you come with me, but your whole life is here, and I know you’d hate to be in a new school even for a little while. So Dad said he’ll bring you to Boston to meet me every couple of weeks, or maybe you can come up with Jill.”
    “I liked knowing you’d be here even if I wasn’t going to be,” Kate said sadly.
    “No matter where I am, I’m always available to you,” Clare said. “I know we have so much time to make up for, and I hate that I feel this need to flee for a while, but I can’t deny that I do feel it.”
    “So I’ll live with Dad?” Maggie asked.
    “Yes, and he’s thrilled to know he’ll have you to himself for a while,” Clare said with a smile. “He said they need your help with the babies.”
    Maggie nodded gravely. “They do need me. Those babies are a handful.”
    “You’ll have a great time being there, and we’ll have fun whenever you come up for weekends,” Clare said, and Maggie seemed satisfied. “What about you, Jill? Will you come up?”
    Jill shrugged. “Sure. If that’s where you’ll be, I’ll come see you and bring Maggie. It sure is better than where you were for the last three years.”
    Clare’s eyes filled. “Anywhere’s better than that.” She reached out to hug them. “I love you all so much. I know I’ve already put you through such a terrible ordeal, and I’m asking a lot of you.”
    “It’s okay, Mom,” Kate said. “We want you to feel better again.”
    “I’ll fly you up for the weekend whenever you want to come,” Clare said, brushing a hand over Kate’s soft blonde hair.
    “When are you going?” Maggie asked.
    “Next week. Right after Kate leaves for Nashville.”
    “Speaking of that,” Kate said. “Dad and Andi are having a birthday-slash-going-away party for me the night before my birthday. I hope you’ll come. He’s going to call you about it.”
    Clare’s stomach clenched with anxiety. “I don’t know, sweetie. I’m not sure I’m up for that.”
    “You have to come, Mom,” Kate pleaded. “I want you to come.”
    Clare bit her thumbnail. “Let me think about it.”
     
    Clare was awake half the night trying to imagine herself socializing with Jack and his new wife at their new home. She was sick just thinking about it, so she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually be there. But how could she say no to Kate when